Technology for Sports Fans

This site may earn affiliate commissions from the links on this page. Terms of use.

Although I can appreciate a good workout, I’m just not that interested in training to run a four-minute mile. I’d rather watch others sweat and smash into each other. Here are my favorite devices for helping me watch – rather than participate in – sporting events.

HDTV: Only 12 days until the Super Bowl, and if you’ve never seen football in high-definition (HD), now’s the time to start. According to Bryan Burns, head of ESPN’s HD channel, the wider screen helps you more quickly see a play develop – as more players and more of the field or court are visible. It’s simply amazing – and we’ll see more and more sporting events in HD over the coming year. ESPN alone is building a 120,000 square foot all HD studio, which goes online this spring, and Sports Center goes HD by summer. We’ll be exploring the world of HDTV in March here, including more details Bryan shared with me on ESPN’s exciting plans. For now, let’s just say if you’re in the market for a TV, go HD.

Binocular & Camera: Two great tastes that actually taste great together! Telescope and Binocular company Meade released the first binoculars with an integrated digital camera two years ago, and the second generation last year. These handy devices make it easy to snap a digital picture of the action, while you’re watching. Models range from the postage-stamp photo size all the way up to 2 megapixels – one even includes a small integrated LCD monitor as well.

It’s no substitute for a stand-alone digital camera, as the fixed focus lens only captures clear images starting at about 60 feet and on up to infinity. Meade’s CaptureView line starts at around $60 and goes up to around $200 – but only the higher end models have a big enough image size to be truly useful.

MSN Direct Watch: As any NFL fan can tell you, some fans just don’t care how silly they look. If you’re one of them – and you absolutely must have sports scores fast – consider this new line of watches from Microsoft and its partners Fossil and Suunto. The watches tune into data, broadcast over the FM radio band, to pull in news, weather and – yes – sports scores. You’ll be able to customize your watch by team, sport, really any way you want.

So what’s the downside? Well, the watches are big. Really big. They also cost between $130 and $200 – which is a lot for what is essentially a digital watch. You’ll also have to pay either ten bucks a month or sixty bucks a year for the data. But the worst part – besides looking dorky — you’ll need to charge up your watch every few days, or it’ll run out of juice. I don’t know about you, but I really don’t need yet another high-maintenance, power-hungry device. I can scarcely remember to keep my cell phone charged as it is. If you’re interested, check out our First Look at the new watches.

Portable Radio: You can get a tiny portable radio for under $10 bucks from lots of places – it’s the headphones that require a bit of shopping. Most headphones simply can’t deliver great sound when you’re sitting in the stands, surrounded by loud and rowdy fans. Look for noise cancellation headphones to drown out at least some of that noise, so you can hear the announcer. I’m a big fan of the Bose QuietComfort 2 noise cancellation headphones, but at $300, they’re a bit pricey. Our review has more details.

Another option comes from Shure – better known for microphones, and professional in-ear monitors. Unlike headphones, which cup around your year, you stuff the company’s E series of earphones directly into your ear — where they block out fan noise, while delivering a clean and clear signal from your FM radio. The Shure earphones range in price from $100 to $500, and are small and easily portable. Just don’t share them with your friends. Check out our detailed review for more on the Shure.